The formal announcement of the new partnership was made by Gary Shaw, President of EliteXC, the respected live fight division of Los Angeles, Calif.-based ProElite.

“This is an exciting day for all of our organizations, but the biggest winners will be fans in the U.K.,’’ Shaw said. “In a short span of eight months, EliteXC has already got the well-deserved reputation for staging sensational fights with the world’s top fighters.

“With the acquisition of Cage Rage Championships, ProElite and EliteXC continues to establish itself as the fast-growing, premier MMA organization in the world.

“I look forward to developing young English fighters and turning them into true world champions, ala Ricky Hatton in boxing.’’

ProElite’s partnership will help secure CRC’s foothold as the UK’s No. 1 MMA organization, as well as provide the resources needed to expand the company’s operations into an international fight brand.

Under the expert leadership of Shaw, who also is a world renowned boxing promoter – he staged Lennox Lewis vs. Mike Tyson, Joe Calzaghe vs., Jeff Lacy and many other major prizefights around the world – EliteXC’s brand will adopt CRC into it’s global strategy and feature British talent in what is purported to be the fastest growing sport in the world.

“Cage Rage is king in the U.K., and this deal will help ensure the organization attains its true potential,” said Irishman William Kelly, Chief Operating Officer of ProElite. “Britain excels in MMA, and we are truly excited by the way Cage Rage has gained popularity and mesmerized the imaginations of fight fans around the world. The British bull dog spirit is alive and well – and we will help Cage Rage bark even louder across Britain and Europe.

“ProElite’s involvement is an important step in our company’s growth and development, as we emerge as the premium MMA organization in Britain,” added Andy Geer, co-founder and promoter of five year old Cage Rage. “The EliteXC brand is held in the highest esteem in fighting echelons, and we are honored by their support.

“This partnership will help us achieve our goals, and the world will be watching as we give audiences the premier experience in MMA. As we move forward, the national brand of Cage Rage will continue to back British talent to the hilt and pitch it against the very elite of international fighters in our own inimitable style.”

Offered Dave O’Donnell, co-founder and promoter of Cage Rage, who introduced MMA to Britain with Geer in 2002: “Our fight nights will reap the benefit of ProElite’s support, as we continue to show audiences the breadth of athleticism and excitement this sport embodies. Our goal is to help MMA shake off its ‘underground’ image and showcase the true skills and commitment required to reach the top in this fight format, which combines no less than four Olympic combat disciplines.”

Cage Rage returns to Wembley Arena on Saturday, Sept. 22, when EliteXC presents Cage Rage 23 before what is expected to be another sell-out crowd

Media powerhouse and broadcaster British Sky Broadcasting Ltd. brought MMA into the mainstream of British sports when it started broadcasting live televised Cage Rage events on its primetime Saturday night schedule. All Cage Rage Championship events are broadcast live on Sky Sport 3.

“I’ve produced hundreds of TV shows over the years and instantly recognized the character in Dave and Andy’s presentation of the sport. In our efforts to build a world media presence, CRC was a natural choice,’’ DeLuca said.

International interest has never been higher with the promotion being beamed to fight fans in the USA, Canada, Brazil, Korea, Japan and other fight savvy territories.

Said Kelly Perdew, President of social networking division ProElite.com, “Cage Rage is one of the most exciting MMA events we have streamed on www.ProElite.com. We are looking forward to bringing more of the same live interactive action to fans worldwide. Watch the live stream on Sept. 22 on proelite.com.
TICKETS FOR CAGE RAGE 23 “UNBELIEVABLE” ARE NOW ON SALE AND CAN BE SECURED AT: <http://www.cagerage.tv/> www.cagerage.tv
Discover the world of ProElite at <http://www.proelite.com/> www.ProElite.com

About ProElite, Inc. (www.proelite.com)
ProElite, Inc. delivers the most exciting entertainment experience in the world of mixed martial arts (MMA) with live arena-based entertainment events, cable television programming on Showtime Networks and community-driven interactive broadband entertainment via the Internet. ProElite embraces MMA with the highest levels of honor, integrity, discipline and self-esteem, all the while remaining inclusive for fighters, fans and schools. ProElite’s live fight division, EliteXC, delivers spectacular live MMA fight events that showcase the world’s top fighters. ProElite’s interactive business, ProElite.com, capitalizes on the growing popularity of the sport of mixed martial arts by building a community of mixed martial arts enthusiasts. In addition to streaming the most exciting live fights to the web, ProElite expands the fan base of the sport by providing a comprehensive set of online social networking tools for fans, fighters and organizations. ProElite.com – Empowering the Fight Community TM.
About Cage Rage Championships (www.cagerage.tv)

Cage Rage Championships (CRC) is the original European mixed martial arts brand, established in 2002 by Dave O’Donnell and Andrew Geer. CRC promotes and produces 6 marquis live MMA events at the Wembley Arena per annum. European audiences enjoy CRC events on pay TV in certain markets, while British TV audiences enjoy live broadcasts of CRC events on Sky Sports 3. In early 2006, Cage Rage Championships launched Cage Rage Contenders, an ‘up-and-comers’ event promotion for new fighters to showcase their skills. The Contenders shows have been expanded to the Republic of Ireland, where the biggest Contenders show to date took place in The Point Theatre, Dublin, Ireland on May 26th, 2007.[7] This is the first Cage Rage event to be held outside the UK.
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By chance, I found Cage Rage on Extreme channel this past week. FYI, it's usually the skateboarding channel next to Eurosport on Cable. It was rather good and featured Mark McDonald (ex-K1) against a chap called James McSweeney. The latter won - which surprised me as I thought it would be Mr McDonald. (Edit: It looked pretty good and competitive to me)

It's on Virgin Media in the UK so I had a busy weekend watching Cage Rage (Thu/Fri night) and Saturday - straight after UFC74(?) on Setanta which featured the Rampage v Dan Henderson contest and More.